Safety device for balers



Dec. 23, 1952 Filed Dec. 26, 1944 R. B. HITCHCOCK ET AL SAFETY DEVICEFOR BALERS 5 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 23, 1952 R. B. l-nTcHcocK EFAL2,622,507

SAFETY DEVICE FOR BALERS Dec. 23, 1952 R. B. HITC'HCO CK EIAL SAFETYDEVICE FOR BALERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 26, 1944 Patented Dec. 23,1952 SAFETY DEVICE FOR BALEES Rex B. Hitchcock, Evanston, and Russell R.

Raney, La Grange, 111., assignors to International Harvester Company, acorporation of New Jersey Application December 26, 1944, Serial No.i9,703

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a new and improved safety device for balers,wherein mechanism is provided to prevent compression by a baling pressplunger at all times when the bale tying needles are left in the baleforming chamber.

An important object of this invention is the provision of a needleprotecting mechanism for balers in which the forward motion of a baleforming plunger is halted if the bale tying mechanism for the previouslyformed bale has not been removed from the bale forming chamber.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a means forretarding and ultimately stopping a bale forming plunger if the tyingmechanism for the previously formed bale has not been fully removed fromthe bale forming chamber.

A further important object is a provision of means for physicallystopping the forward motion of a bale forming plunger and simultaneouslytherewith to cut off the source of power for the plunger bothmechanically and electrically.

Full automatic bale tying is a development of recent origin and hencehas brought with it problems not heretofore encountered. In thecontinuously automatic forming and tying of bales it is necessary toprovide a tying mechanism which has a means for carrying twine or othertying material through the bale forming chamher. This mechanismcomprising a pair of twine carrying needles passes through the baleforming chamber and around a, completed bale of material. A further mustin automatic baling machines is a constantly reciprocating balecompressing plunger. These elements, namely, the needles coming throughthe bale chamber and the reciprocating plunger must be so timed that theplunger will never be advancing in the bale chamber at a time when theneedles are extending unprotected through the bale forming chamber. Thetiming of these elements to gain such a result is possible but, inspite-of this fact, mechanical failure of any of the driving elements ofeach of these parts might break this timing and, hence, it is a specialobject of this invention to eliminate the damage caused by suchmechanical failure, that is bending or breaking of the needles and aresultant long tie-up of the baler during its repair.

Other and further important objects will become apparent in thedisclosures in the following specification and accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pick-up baler showing the safetydevice of this invention incorporated thereon;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the other side of the baler as shownin Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevationof that portion of the baler including thesafety device;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4 showing the safetydevice in another position;

Figure 6 is another view similar to Figures 4 and 5 showing the safetydevice in actual operation; and

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 5.

As shown in the drawings:

Reference numeral 10 indicates generally a pick-up baler having hitchmeans H at the forward end thereof for attachment to a trac- -tor, orthe like, not shown. A single wheel I! supports the forward end of thebaler l0 and a relatively wide spread two Wheel truck l3 supports therearward end of the baler ill. The wheel truck 13 comprises wheels l4and I5. Wheel I5 is positioned outwardly of a pick-up device It. Thepick-up portion 16 of the baler i0 is of the type shown and described indetail in the application entitled Pick-Up Baler, and having Serial No.466,460, now Patent No. 2,450,082. This pick-up device includes areell'ike member having outwardly extending wire fingers ll adapted topick up hay or straw from the ground and throw it up over the topthereof into the path of an auger 9 which feeds the material toward theelongated bale forming chamber 18. Packer or feed fingers [9 are adaptedto travel in a gyratory manner so as to take material extruded from theauger 9 and feed it through an opening 20 in the side wall of the balechamber I8. The pick-up device further includes means for preventin thematerial to be baled from rising above the open end auger 9. A holddownpacker 2| in combination with a means 22 for permitting floatingmovement of the auger 9 through the arcuate slot 23 insures that thematerial picked up will be fed beneath the auger 9 in spite of thequantity of material.

An engine 24, mounted above the bale forming chamber l8, supplies thepower for the pick-up mechanisms as well as the power for the baleforming plunger 25'. A power take-off pulley 26 on the engine .24, bestshown in Figure 1, is adapted to drive a. fiy-wheel 21, keyed to theshaft 28 which is journally mounted across the forward end of the baleforming chamber l8, by

3 means of a belt 29 and an idler pulley 30. A gear 3| is likewise keyedto the shaft 28 within the elongated bale forming chamber [8. This gear3| meshes with a larger gear 32 which is keyed to a cross-shaft 33, thusimparting driving means from the engine to the shaft 33.

A gear box 34 mounted on the outside of the bale chamber l8 and on theside opposite the fly-wheel 21 is adapted to be mounted over the drivenshaft 33. A bevel gear 35 is affixed to the driven shaft 33 and mesheswith a complementary bevel gear 36 also within the gear box 34 to efiecta drive of the upwardly and rearwardly extending shaft 31. With the aidof universal joints 38 and 39 and a connecting drive shaft 46, the driveis carried rearwardly to drive the packer fingers 19 by a crank 40 and abevel gear 4|, best shown in Figure 2. The bevel gear 4| engages anotherbevel gear 42 at right angles thereto and mounted on a cross-shaft 43.The cross-shaft 43 extends outwardly behind the pick-up device [6 andthereby imparts rotation to the auger 9 down to the hinged floating arm22. Drive for the pick-up reel is also taken from this driven shaft 43.

An irregular'shaped wheel 44 is keyed or otherwise attached as at 45 toone extreme end of this shaft 43 and has on its outer face a cammedtrack or groove 46. An arm 47, pivoted at 48 on a fixed part of a frame49, has an inwardly projecting pin 56 adapted to engage or ride withinthe groove 46 in the irregular shaped wheel 44. It will be seen thatrotation of the shaft 43 and a corresponding rotation of the wheel 44will effect an angular movement of. the arm 41 about its pivot 48.Further, the degree of angular swinging of the arm 41 will be varieddepending upon the position of the irregular shaped wheel 44. Thelowerend of the arm 41 is attached at 6|v to a connecting link 52 whichis joined at its other. end. to an arm 53 at .54. .The arm 53 is hinged,at 55 on the side of the bale chamber [8.

,The lower end of the arm 53 is attached to twine carrying, needles 56at 51. Angular swinging movement of the arm 41 by reason of theirregularly ,shaped, wheel 44 will cause a movement of the needles 56 upthrough and a retraction from the bale chamber 8.

, Material to be baled is picked up by the pick-up device l6 and fed bythe auger 9 and the packing fingers [9 in varying amounts to the balechamber [8. This material is fed into the chamber when the plunger 25 isfully retracted. The

plunger. 25 shown only in Figures 4, 5, and 6,

reciprocated within the bale chamber 18 by reason of a bifurcated crank58, shown in Figure ,2. 'The crank 58 is on, and is'driven by the shaft33 on which the large gear '32 is keyed. A

lco'nnec ting link 59 joins the bifurcated crank 58 with the plunger.'25 and is adapted to swing through the bifurcated portions of the crank58. After material to be baled is pushed into'the bale forming chamberl8=by the packer fingers I9, the plunger 25 starts it compressionstroke,

whereupon the material inserted within the bale chamber is pushedforwardly and compressed with other previously inserted material untilsuch time as a full bale is formed, whereupon the tying mechanism'beginsits. operation with the needles 56 carrying the twine up through thebale chamber l8 where it. feeds the twine to a knotting mechanism 60,shown diagrammatically in Figure 1. When the tyingis completed the tiedbale is pushed out the end of the bale forming chamber.

Bale tensioning means 92 and tail-gate means 93 4 are positioned at thedischarge end of the bale forming chamber.

There are occasions when the cam operation between the cam track 46 andthe pin 50 fail to operate and the needles 56 are left up in the balechamber when they should have been withdrawn. Under such a condition,the advancing plunger would cause bending or even breaking of theneedles 56. A safety device is herein provided to prohibit a forwardmovement of the plunger when the needles have not been withdrawn fromthe bale chamber l3. In normal operation of the baler the twine carryingneedles 56 come up through the baling chamber 18 and through the slots6| in the end of the bale plunger 25 while the plunger is finishing itscompression stroke and starting its withdrawal. When the needle is up inthe bale chamber, the needle operating arm 53 is inclined downwardly andforwardly, rather than rearwardly when the needles are retracted. Insuchposition, the connecting link 52 is moved forwardly and, as bestshown in Figure 5, a plunger stop 62 pivoted at 63 is permitted to havea, projecting portion 64 extending within the bale chamber [8 through aslot 65. The stop 62 is normally biased to rotate in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in Figure 5, by reason of a spring 66. Theinterconnection between the link 52 and the stop 62 is best shown inFigures 4 and 5. A rod-like member 61 is attached to a stop 62 at 66. VThis rod extends rearwardly and through a sleeve-like member 69 which ispivotable about the end portion 16 of. the connecting link 52. Anadjustable stop nut TI is provided at the end of the rod member 67 andis adapted to abut the sleeve 69 upon rearward movement of theconnecting link 52. As the needles are fed up through the bale chamberI8, the end 76 of the connecting link 52 is free to move forwardly onthe rod 61 without effecting movement of the stop 62 other than topermit the spring'66 in the stop to cause its projection 64 to extend inthe path of the bale plunger 25. When the needles 56 are properlywithdrawn from the bale chamber ill, the connecting link 52 is movedrearwardly by the swinging action of the lever arm 41 so that the sleeve66 contacts the adjustment nut ll just before the end of the needleretraction and the rod member 6'! is moved with the needle to effect awithdrawal of the stop 62 from the bale chamber [8 by reason of itsrotation about the vertical shaft 63. The bale plunger 25 is now free tomove rearwardly and compress new material in the formation of a balewithout interference from the stop 62.

In all regular operation of the baler, the stop 62 does not enter intothe operation, but rather it is only employed when the needles 56 arenot properly withdrawn from the bale chamber [8. It will be understoodthat when the needles are accidentally left in the bale chamber l8, thestop 62 and particularly its projection 64 will not be removed from thebale chamber I8, but will remain directly in the path of the baleplunger 25. In such event, the plunger 25 will not be permitted to moverearwardly in its compression stroke beyond the stop projection 64 and,hence, cannot break or bend the needles 56.

The stop 62, as best shown in Figure 7, is mounted on its pivot shaft 63me yoke member 12. The yoke member 12 is slidable within a superposedyoke 13. The pivot shaft 63 has both of its ends extending throughopposedflaligned slots 14 in the outer yoke member 13. "Washer members75 surrounding the shaft 63 and retamed flush with the outer surfaces ofthe yoke 63 from accidental removal. A compression spring 11 isconnected to the inner yoke member by a bolt-like member 18 having itshead within the yoke I2 and its shank portion 19 extending without andwithin the coils of the spring 11. A nut and washer 80 and 8|, on thebolt shank 19, respectively, are adapted to engage the end of the springH as best shown in Figures 4 and 5. The outer yoke 13 is welded orotherwise attached at 82 to the wall of the bale chamber [8. The inneryoke 12 in contradistinction to the outer yoke 13 is permittedlongitudinal sliding movement with respect to the stationary outer yoke.The spring 11 thus acts to restrain movement of the stop member 62against longitudina1 movement. When the plunger 25 strikes the ledgedprojection 64 of the stop 62, it acts to compress the spring 11 uponmovement of the inner yoke 12 with respect to the outer yoke 13. Asudden stopping of the plunger 25 without some cushioning effect mightbe very detrimental to the baler and, hence, the spring energy absorbingmeans just described is incorporated in the operation of the safetydevice. A shear key or pin 83 is provided in the fly-wheel 21 betweenthe fly-wheel and the shaft 28 so that when the plunger 25 has arrivedat its cushioned stop, stopping of the plunger 25 will cause the key 83to shear and thus stop driving movement of the plunger 25 by the sourceof power.

In addition to the mechanical stopping of power by the shearing of thekey 83, a secondary stopping means is used to cut out the motive powerof the engine 24. The means for stopping the motive power of the powersource employed may be any one of several forms depending on the type ofpower source employed. In the present case, an internal combustionengine is used and one effective way to stop the engine is to break theelectrical ignition circuit. However, if the power source were a steamengine or a diesel engine, the method of stopping it would probably beby a valve in the fuel line. The device here is best shown in Figure '7of the drawings where an actuating member 84 is hinged to the outerstationary yoke member 13 at 85 within a cut out portion 86. Theactuating member 84 projects downwardly within a line slot 81 in theinner slidable yoke member 12. This actuating member 84 has an inclinedsurface 88 arranged so that respective movement between the yokes I2 and13 will cause an upward swinging movement of the actuating member 84 andan upper portion 89 will strike an electrical switch button 90 of aswitch 9| adapted to engage and disengage the electrical ignition systemof the engine 24. When the button 90 is depressed by the actuatingmember 84, the ignition circuit for the engine 24 is broken, thereuponstopping operation of the engine. It will be seen that the dual powerstopping means, that is, the mechanical shearing of the pin 83 and thebreaking of the electrical ignition circuit of the engine 24, willguarantee the stopping of the plunger 25 to protect the needles notwithdrawn from the baling chamber and in so doing will not cause injuryto any of the balers structural elements.

The safety device of this invention greatly enhances the value of allautomatic balers and especially the pick-up baler type. The operators ofsuch balers are saved the task of hunting down replacement needles whichare bent or broken by some simple mechanical failure.

Numerous construction details may be varied without departing from thescope of this invention and we, therefore, do not propose limiting thepatent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a baler having a bale forming chamber, a plunger adapted to bereciprocated in said bale chamber, an engine adapted to drive afly-wheel which in turn causes reciprocation of the plunger through acrank means, automatic tying means for the bales of material, saidautomatic tying means including tie-strand carrying needles, anoperating arm adapted to mechanically project said needles through thebaling chamber upon completion of a bale of material, means for stoppingmovement of the plunger when the needles are Within the bale formingchamber, said means comprising a stop element having a portion thereofcapable of projecting through an aperture in the bale forming chamberand within the path of the reciprocating plunger, and interlocking meansbetween said stop element and said needles, whereby when the needles arewithin the bale forming chamber the stop member projects in the balechamber in the path of the plunger, said interlocking means comprising asleeve on said operating arm, a rod-like member extending from said stopelement and adapted to slide within said sleeve on the operating arm forsaid needles, and stop means at the end of said rod.

2. In a baler having a bale forming chamber, a plunger adapted to bereciprocated in said bale chamber, an engine adapted to drive afly-wheel which in turn causes reciprocation of the plunger through acrank means, automatic tying means for the bales of material, saidautomatic tying means including tie-strand carrying needles, anoperating arm adapted to mechanically project the needles through thebaling chamber upon completion of a bale of material, means for stoppingmovement of the plunger when the needles are within the bale formingchamber, said means comprising a stop element having a portion thereofcapable of projecting through an aperture in the bale forming chamberand within the path of the reciprocating plunger, and interlocking meansbetween said stop element and said needles, whereby when the needles arewithin the bale forming chamber the stop member projects in the balechamber in the path of the plunger, said interlocking means comprising asleeve on said operating arm, a rod-like member extending from said stopelement and adapted to slide within the sleeve on the operating arm forsaid needles and stop means at the end of said rod, said stop meansincluding a nut threadedly engaging said rod-like member and axiallyadjustable so that said plunger stop element will not be removed fromsaid bale forming chamber until the needles are entirely removed fromsaid chamher.

3. In a baler having a bale forming chamber, a plunger adapted to bereciprocated in said bale chamber, an engine adapted to drive afly-wheel which in turn causes reciprocation of the plunger through acrank means, automatic tying means for the bales of material, saidautomatic tying means including tie-strand moving needles adapted to bemechanically projected through the baling chamber upon completion of abale of material, and means for arresting movement of the plunger whenthe needles are within the bale forming chamber, said means forarresting movement of the plunger comprising a hinged stop.

chamber, an engine adapted, to drive a fly-wheel which in turn causesreciprocation of the plunger through a crank means, automatic tyingmeans for thebales of' material, said automatic tying means includingtie-strand moving needles adapted to be .mechanioally projected throughthe baling. chamber upon completion of a bale of material, and meansfor. arresting: movement of the plunger when the needles are within thebale forming chamber; said means for arresting movement" of: the;plunger comprising a hingedstop member, spring means: restraining saidhinged stop member against longitudinal movement, whereby when theplunger strikes the hinged stop member it will act againstsaidspring-meam, and a second spring means adapted to normally urge saidhinged stop member within said bale forming chamber.

5. In a baler having a bale forming chamber, a plunger'adapted to bereciprocated in said bale chamber, an engine adapted to drive afly-wheel which in turn causes reciprocation of the plunger through acrank means, automatic tying means for the bales of material, saidautomatic tying means including tie-strand carrying needles adapted tobe mechanically projected through the baling chamber upon completion ofa bale of material, and means for arresting movement of the plunger-whenthe needles are within the bale forming chamber, said means forarrestingmovement of' the plunger comprising a hinged stop member, spring meansrestraininggsaid hinged stop member against longitudinal movement,whereby when the plunger strikes the hinged stop member it will actagainst said spring means, a second spring means adapted tonormally-urge said'hinged stopmember within said bale forming chamber,and link means between said hinged stop :member and saidneedles arrangedso that said hinged stop memberwill be positioned within said baleforming chamber at all times when the needles are within-thebale formingchamber and the hinged stop member will be removed from the balechambenonly when the needlesare removedfrom the bale: chamber.

6. In a baler having a: bale forming chamber, aiplunger adaptedto bereciprocated in-saidbale chamber, an engine adapted to drive a fly-wheelwhich in turn causes reciprocation of the plunger through a crank means,automatic tying means for bales of material, said automatictying meansincluding'tie-strand carrying needles adapted to be mechanicallyprojected through the baling chamber upon completion of the forming of abale of'material, and means for stopping'movement of the plunger whenthe needles are within the bale forming chamber, said means for stoppingmovement of the plunger comprising a hinged stop member, spring meansrestraining said hinged stop member against longitudinal movement,whereby when the plunger strikes the hinged stop member it will actagainst said'spring means, a-second spring means adapted to normallyurge said hinged stop member Within saidbale forming chamber, link meansbetween saidhinged stop member and said needles arranged so that saidhinged stop member will be positioned within said bale forming chamberat all times when the needles are within the bale forming chamber andthe hinged stop member will be removed from the bale chamber only whenthe needles are removed from the bale chamber, and means operable inresponse to the plunger striking the stop member for stopping operationof said engine during longitudinal movement. of the spring meansretained hinged stop member when the plunger strikes said hinged stopmember.

REX B. HITCHCOCK. RUSSELL R. RANEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 406,455 Maurer July 9, 18891,685,098 Sklovsky Sept. 25, 1928 1,855,838 Kranick Apr. 26, 19322,124,965 Lind July 26, 1938 2,236,628 Nolt Apr. 1, 1941 2,362,861Russell Nov. 14, 1944 2,405,688 Crumb Aug. 13, 1946 2,458,531 Rust Jan.11, 1949

